Santillan says the woman lost consciousness while the plane was in the air. He says she had no pulse and was pronounced dead by responders after the plane arrived at Sky Harbor International Airport in Phoenix.

Sky Harbor spokeswoman Julie Rodriguez says the flight was US Airways 693. It left Honolulu on Tuesday night and arrived in Phoenix shortly after 7 a.m. Wednesday.

Matt Miller, a spokesman for US Airways' merger partner American Airlines, says the passenger's medical emergency occurred as the plane was descending into Phoenix.